Engine compressor control



Feb. 3, 1953 A. BERNAL 2,627,371

ENGINE COMPRESSOR CONTROL Original Filed Oct. 29, 1946 2 SHEETS-SHEET 1 l, O 4 33 35a,

gnaw/tog ANTONIO BERNAL A. BERNAL ENGINE COMPRESSOR CONTROL Feb. 3, 1953 2 SHEETS-SHEET 2 Original Filed Oct. 29, 1946 NTONIO BERNAL.

Patented Feb. 3, 1953 UNITED STATES ALTENT OFFICE;

2,627,371 ENGINE ooMraessoaoon'raon Antonio B ernal, Sante Fe, Argentina.- Applicati ruiy s', 1947, snaimarrs'imsk This" invention relates to apparatus for converting one or more cylinders of an internal combustion engine into an air compresson Iii-my prior patent application; SerialNo. 706,-

412, filed October 29, 1946; now abandoned; of

which the present application is a continuationin-part, there'is described an apparatus for convertingone or more cylinders 'of'an internal combustion engine to act as cylinders of an aircom pressor. In this apparatus there is'provide'd a two -way valve in theportion of the intakemani fold communicating with said cylinders whereby when the valveis'in one position, communication between the cylinders and the carburettor is shut off, and the'intake portsof the cylinders are placed in communication with an air supply'duct. In'tlie other position of said two-way valve the communication of the intake ports of the cylin ders withthe air supply duct is out OK andcommunication between said cylinders and the carburettor is reestablished. There is also provided a valve associated'with' the head of the cylinder or cylinders which serves asa compressed ai'r discharge Valve.

engine.

The apparatus also includes a unitary control for simultaneously actuating both of said valves so that whenthe cylinders are operating as cylinders of an enginethetwo-Way' valve will 'Ihcom'pressed air Q discharge valvealso includes a valve for'closing' offtlie discharge valve when the cylindersare operating as cylinders of'ai'i' int'ernalcombustion 4v Glaims; (01. 230-41) be in a position to admit fue1 mixture tot'he ini take ports of thecylinders and to close off the compressed air discharge-valve. When the unitary control is actuated to convert the cylinders into cylinders of a compressor, the fue1-mixture is shut ofi'from the intake ports of-the cylinders andsaid ports placed into communication with an air supply duct. Simultaneously, the com pressed-air discharge valve is rendered operative so thatcompressed air can be discharged there from.

Some automotive engines requir pneumatic devices for'brake operation and other functions which devices use up the compressed air provided by the aforesaid mechanism; hence; the compressed air supply requires continual replenish ment. Thus it is desirable not to rely upon conscious manualioperation of the control rod t0- convert an engine cylinder from power to compressor operation, but to make such conversion automatic, dependent on an operational condition;

The object of this invention isto" provide ap-' paratus' to convertone'or more cylinders of an internal combustion engine toact' ascylinders of an air compressor including a two-waywalve operable to cut ofi the supply of fuel mixture to thecylinders and admit a supply of air tosaid cylinders, a compressed air discharge valve op erable to be sealed when the convertedcylinders are reconvert'ed to cylinders o'f'an internal com bustion engine-and an automatic control device for simultaneously" actuating said valveswhe're-- by said cylinders are operated ascylinders of an internal combustion engine when the engine is under load 'and will operate ascompressor cylinders when the engine is" operating underno' load or a reduced'load.

The'automatic control device of this'invention is of very simple construction and" in'its preferredform comprises a cylinder with-a thimble recip--' rocable therein, said' thimble having a rod-extending outside the cylinder andoperatively con nected at'its outer end to the control ro'do'f the compressor converter mechanism. The innerside' of the thimble is acte'dupon by a helical spring inside the cylinder which urges" said thimble towards one end of the cylinder, while the other end ofthecylinder is connectedbya tube to suction prcducedby the engine. When" the suction operating under the thimble is "su t ficient to'overcome the thrust or thespring-ythe thimble moves away fror'n'th'e opposite end. of the cylinder thereby operating the' converter mech-' anism' to produce compressor action in the-"em gine, but when'the engine-suction'is reduced, the spring returns the thimble to itsorigina'l po'sition thereby actuating the converter mechanism in the opposite direction and restoring the engine'tonor'mal operation; i

In order to facilitate'an understanding of thepresent invention; referenceis -mads to the accompanying drawings; in Which? Figure 1 is a side elevational view partly in section of an internal combustion engineeduipped with the apparatus of the =1'cres'entinvention? a showing of-the inventivefeaturesw Figure 3 isanothe'r planvi'ewsomewhatsimilar to that of Fig. 2 and showing parts 111 580111611? Figure 4 is an enlarged detailed'vertical sec tional View of a portion of-the engine cylinder" head and the compressed air discharge valvew Figure'5 is an enlarged detaileds'ctionalview of the automatic controldevice showing'its con nection with thec'arburettor', 1

Figure 21s a planview of "the engine shown in Fig. 1 with some of the parts rerhoved to facilitate As shown in the drawings, the engine block I is provided with a plurality of cylinders 2 equipped with pistons 3. The cylinder block is provided with an intake manifold 4 and an exhaust manifold which is not shown.

Intake or fuel mixture manifold 4 communicates through an induction conduit 4| provided with a throttle 42 with a carburettor 40 which is supplied with air through an air pipe 43 equipped with an air filter 38.

A head 5 is mounted in the usual manner on the upper portion of the block I.

Cylinder head 5 is provided with a threaded opening 8 in addition to the opening for the spark plug 6 over each of the cylinders that is to be converted to a compressor cylinder. Openings 8 are surrounded by recesses 1. Each threaded opening 8 affords access to the upper portion of the cylinder 2 and receives the compressed air discharge valve 9. As best shown in Fig. 4, valve 9 comprises an outer casing or housing open at its upper and lower ends and threaded at its lower portion II) for reception in opening 3.

A tubular shut off valve body I5 is mounted in the bore I4 of casing 9 and is provided with a head or flange I8 on its lower end adapted to engage a plane surface or seat II formed on the lower end face of easing 9.

Body I5 is provided with an externally threaded upper portion I6 for the reception of a closure member 26. A coil spring I2 surrounds the body I5. One end of spring I2 bears on the upper end face of the casing 9 and the other end of spring I2 bears against the under side of closure member 26 thereby urging the body I5 upwardly and the flange I8 toward its seat II.

Control of the axial position of body I5 within casing 9 is effected by radially extending pins or studs I3 which are threadedly mounted in the wall of casing 9 and project into helical grooves 25 in the outer cylindrical surface of the body I5. Upon rotating the body I5 within casing '9 the body is axially shifted to move the flange I8 onto and off of its seat II. Rotation of the body I5 is effected by arm 28 mounted on closure 23. A control or actuating rod 30 is connected to the free end of arm 28 to move the same. An arm 29 is also carried by closure 26 and is movable therewith.

When the valve body I5 is shifted to its lower position the air compressed in cylinder 2 is forced between the flange I8 and seat II and thence radially inwardly through passages 24 into a chamber 23 in the lower interior portion of the tubular valve body I5.

It will be noted that a conical valve seat 23 is provided in the lower interior portion of body I5 and that a valve body 2I of polygonal exterior formation and a conical end is pressed onto the seat 20 by a coil spring 22. Valve body 2! when seated prevents air being drawn into the cylinder 2, but air may be discharged from the cylinder 2 against the action of spring 22. Thus, when the arm 28 is rotated to shift the tubular body I5 downwardly to move disc I8 away from seat II, air will fiow through the passages 24 into chamber 23 about discharge valve body 2I, up through tubular body I5 and through the hose nipple 21 to a point of use.

In order to avoid the intake of fuel mixture into those of cylinders 2 that are being used as compressors, the intake manifold is provided with valve means for closing oif communication between the cylinders being used as compressors and the carburettor. When the intake manifold a is cut off, air should be supplied to the intake ports of the compressor cylinders and when the cylinders are being used as engine cylinders, the air should be cut off and fuel mixture sup plied to the admission ports.

According to this invention a two-way valve 33 is provided for control of both the fuel mixture flow and air flow. As shown, particularly in Fig. 3, the valve 33 comprises a housing interposed in the manifold 9 between one of the end cylinders 2 of the block and the remaining cylinders. In addition to the ports of valve 33 communicating with the portions 35 and 35a of manifold 4 said valve is provided with two ports spaced from the first ports. One of the latter ports communicates with air duct 31 which supplies filtered air, and the diametrically opposite port communicate with conduit 35, the other end of which communicates with the portion of manifold 35a adjacent the engine block.

A plug 34 having a passage 34a therethrough is mounted in the casing for rotation so that the passage 34a can be brought into register with the portions 35 and 35a of manifold 4 to place said portions in communication or be brought into register with ducts 33 and 3'! to place them in communication with each other. Rotation of plug 3 1 is effected by a stem 341) which carries an arm 32 on its upper end.

Synchronization of the actuation of valves I5 and 33 is produced by connecting the arm 32 to arm 29 by a link 3|. This connection is such that when the flange I3 is moved away from its seat I I, plug 34 is rotated to close communication between portions 35 and 35a of manifold 4 and to establish communication between conduits 36 and 31. When valve 9 is actuated to close the flange I3 on its seat II, plug 34 is rotated to disconnect conduit 33 from 31 and connect the sections 35 and 35a of manifold 4.

While control of the valves 9 and 33 can be effected manually, the present invention provides mechanism for automatically actuating the valves in accordance with the load on the engine. Automatic operation is effected by providing a valve control cylinder 14 having a thimble like piston slidably mounted therein. A piston rod 46 extends from one end of the piston through a packing gland 4'! in one end of the cylinder and is connected by a coupling 48 to the valve actuating rod 35.

Coil spring 99 has one end positioned within the thimble like piston 35 and its other end bears against the head end 59 of the cylinder thereby urging the piston 35 toward the right of Fig. 5

and shifting the valves 9 and 33 to the position shown in Fig. 3 wherein all cylinders operate as engine cylinders.

As shown, the head end 50 is connected by tub ing 5| to the induction duct GI at a point just on the posterior or engine side of the throttle butterfly valve i2 when the latter is closed. When so connected, opening of the throttle 32 to the dotted line position will greatly reduce the suction exerted on piston 45 and enable spring 49 to shift the piston 45 to a position to in turn shift the valves 9 and 33 for engine operation of all cylinders. On the other hand, when the throttle valve 32 is closed, considerable suction is exerted on piston 45 and it will be drawn to the left of Fig. 5 against the action of spring 49.

Cylinder M may be suppored by brackets 52 or by any suitable means.

While packing has not been shown between piston 45 and its cylinder 44 nor between valve body I 5 and its casing 9, it should be understood that if needed it may be employed.

For purposes of simplicity and convenience, valve 33 has been shown with four ports. However, a three port valve constructed so that manifold section 351 can be connected either with section 35 or with fresh air duct 31 may be used.

Also, the air conduits 36 and 31 and the manifold sections 35 and 35a can be controlled by independent valves actuated in synchronism.

The apparatus described serves effectively to automatically change one or more cylinders of an internal combustion engine from engine driving cylinders to air compressing cylinders when the load on the engine is low. On the other hand when a load is placed on the engine and all cylinders are needed for driving the engine, the valves 9 and 33 are shifted to make all the cylinders operate as engine driving cylinders.

Changes in constructional details may obviously be made without departing from the spirit of the invention or the scope of the appended claims.

Having now described my invention, I claim:

1. Mechanism for converting at least one en gine cylinder of an internal combustion engine having a carburettor and an intake manifold for use as an air compressor comprising in combination, a compressed air delivery duct communicating with the interior of the engine cylinder to be converted, a check valve in said duct, a cylinder valve adjacent the cylinder and duct for opening or closing communication with the duct and cylinder, a fresh air intake, a two-way valve arranged in the manifold to connect the cylinder to be converted alternatively to the carburettor for power operation or to the fresh air intake with shut-01f from the carburettor for compressor operation, mechanical connections for simultaneously operating the two-way valve and the cylinder valve so that when the cylinder valve is open the two-way valve admits air to the conersion cylinder only from the fresh air intake and when the cylinder valve is closed the twoway valve admits fuel mixture through the carburettor and intake manifold to said cylinder, and automatic means connected to the mechanical connections and the intake manifold responsive to fuel demand to convert the cylinder from a compressor to power operation when the load of the engine increases.

2. Mechanism according to claim 1, in which the automatic means includes a pressure responsive means operable by the suction in the intake manifold to actuate the mechanical connections.

3. Mechanism according to claim 1, in which the automatic means includes a pressure responsive means operable by the suction in the intake manifold to actuate the mechanical connections, said responsive means including a piston and cylinder with the piston connected to the mechanical connections and the cylinder in communication with the intake manifold.

4. Mechanism for converting at least one engine cylinder of an internal combustion engine having a carburettor and an intake manifold for use as an air compressor comprising in combination, a compressed air delivery duct communicating with the interior of the engine cylinder to be converted, a check valve in said duct, a cylinder valve adjacent the cylinder and duct for opening or closing communication with the duct and cylinder, a fresh air intake, a twoway valve arranged in the manifold to connect the cylinder to be converted alternatively to the carburettor for power operation or to the fresh air intake with shut-off from the carburettor for compressor operation, and mechanical connections for simultaneously operating the twoway valve and the cylinder valve so that when the cylinder valve is open the two-Way valve admits air to the conversion cylinder only from the fresh air intake and when the cylinder valve is closed the two-way valve admits fuel mixture through the carburettor and intake manifold to said cylinder.

ANTONIO BERNAL.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date Re. 14,195 Forry Sept. 26, 1916 871,508 Houlehan Nov. 19, 1907 1,270,310 McWhorter June 25, 1918 1,610,099 Lemp Dec. 7, 1926 2,005,262 Liverance June 18, 1935 2,027,507 Arthur Jan. 14, 1936 2,322,978 Schwaiger June 29, 1943 2,400,581 Walker May 21, 1946 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 22,105 Great Britain 1905 136,999 Great Britain 1919 371,363 Great Britain Apr. 20, 1932 

